Sieges and Castle Warfare

While major towns are the jewels of Calradia, castles are the bones. They are the defensive hardpoints that control the villages and trade routes. Taking a castle is often a bloodier, tighter affair than a town siege due to the compact layout and deadly choke points. This guide focuses on the specific strategies needed to conquer these fortresses.

Castles vs. Towns

Strategically, castles serve a different purpose than towns:

• Economic Output: Lower. They produce less tax but protect attached villages.

• Defense: Higher. Castles often have better natural terrain (hilltops, cliffs) and tighter kill zones.

• Garrison: Usually smaller, but concentrated elite troops.

Logistics of Conquest

A campaign to take multiple castles requires careful planning.

• Food: Castles have smaller granaries. If you starve them out, you inherit a castle with zero food. Bring huge stocks of grain to donate to the granary immediately after capture, or the garrison you leave behind will starve.

• Cohesion: Since castles fall faster than towns, you can often chain two castle sieges in one army summons if you manage cohesion well.

Offensive Engines Overview

When attacking a castle, your choice of engine matters more due to the limited space.

• Battering Rams: The king of castle sieges. Castle gates are often the only viable entry point since walls are harder to scale.

• Mangonels (Onagers): Use these to suppress the tight clusters of archers on the smaller castle walls.

• Trebuchets: Often overkill. Unless the castle has Tier 3 walls, you might waste too much time building these.

Wall Breach Tactics

If you do breach the walls, be careful. Castle breaches are often narrow and filled with rubble, slowing your charge.

• Shield Wall: Essential. Do not charge blindly. Move your shield wall into the breach and hold position to soak up arrows before pushing.

Garrison Management

The moment you take the castle, you are vulnerable.

1. Donate Troops: Immediately dump your wounded or low-tier troops into the garrison to deter counter-attacks.

2. Manage Projects: Set the "Festival and Games" daily project to boost loyalty instantly, as low loyalty leads to rebellion.

3. Food: As mentioned, dump food into the stash.

Ladder Timing

If you are using the Ram strategy, you can use ladders as a distraction.

• The Feint: Send a small group of infantry up the ladders before the Ram hits. This forces defenders away from the gatehouse.

• The Main Push: Once the gate breaks, the defenders will panic and try to rush back down, but it will be too late.

For more on the mechanics of sieges, see our Siege Warfare Guide.